Gas effects: High prices hit trade-ins, fishing boats and comedy acts

Sunday

Jun 22, 2008 at 1:35 AMJun 22, 2008 at 3:18 AM

Used SUVs still sellingIn some parts of the country, people are trying to unload their gas-hungry SUVs, and car dealers have stopped taking them.But Wilmington dealers say there is still demand for the small- and medium-size vehicles like Ford Explorers and Jeep Grand Cherokees even though the larger SUVs arenít moving as much because of gas prices.One reason why many SUVs are still selling is because the market for them has softened, said Bruce Cavenaugh, owner of new and used lots in Wilmington."Weíre actually doing very well selling used ones, probably because the prices are lower on them, and weíre able to buy them cheaper," he said. "Some people need a bigger vehicle. You canít get a small car to haul 5,000-pound trailers. You take a family of four or five, and itís pretty tough to get the itty-bitty car."Cavenaugh said some SUV-owners have checked about trading their vehicles in, but because of the softer selling prices, many have found itís not worth it with what they still owe."Iíve been doing this for over 35 years, and I have seen many, many energy crises," he said. "Certainly, people get very emotional about it for a while. You make adjustments."Fishing for customersDiesel prices also have soared alongside gasoline, leaving many of the charter fishing boats at Carolina Beach spending more time at the docks.Tommy Lorenzen, business manager for Blue Marlin Fishing Charters, is crossing his fingers that more North Carolina families will be vacationing at the coast instead of traveling out of state.Without a bump in the summer tourists, it will be a tight year in an already slow season."This time of year, we should be fishing something like four to six days a week," Lorenzen said. "Right now, even the boats that have been down here for 30-plus years are fishing one to two days a week."He estimated in mid-June that diesel was $1.60 more a gallon than last year. Itís prompted charter companies to increase charter prices and tweak fishing routes."I donít want to say weíre crippled by any means," he said, "but if it doesnít kick up in the next week or two, itíll be hard."No laughing matterCory Howard has found little humor filling up on the road.Howard, half of the two-man comedy team The Superkiiids! based in Wilmington, set out on his first tour earlier this month with $190 stowed away from earlier shows to fuel the Saturn coupe for a while.By the time Howard and Jonathan Guggenhein made it to their first show in Boston, the gas kitty was down to $60 after hitting gas stations with prices already more than $4 a gallon."We knew it was going to cost us a lot of money. I thought that 190 bucks would get us through at least longer than our first show," he said. "With gas in addition to tolls, travelling is just barely possible."To fund the rest of the trip, the duo hoped to sell more merchandise during the seven-city tour, which included stops in Maine, Canada and New York City, and expected to dip into their personal money or credit cards.Despite the rising pump prices, Howard said Superkiiids! plans to strike out again in the fall, but this time with a strategy to book shows in cities that are closer together to save driving.He said the long-planned first tour was worth the extra money."Even if it like $12 a gallon, we still would have gone," he said. "It was a big goal of ours."- Vicky Eckenrode

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